


The Bull and The Dragon

by Fantasybond_2016



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragons, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-07-13 20:24:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7135793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasybond_2016/pseuds/Fantasybond_2016
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a vicious encounter with a wild dragon that nearly turns into a disaster, unexpected and unusual help turns up to aid the Inquisitor and his companions.</p>
<p>This is how The Iron Bull falls for a new ally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [How To Train Your Dragon (Age)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4613652) by [magisterpavus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magisterpavus/pseuds/magisterpavus). 



> Had this idea come into my head months ago whilst playing the video game (delaying killing off the amazing dragons, didn't really want to! XD) and, after reading this brilliant fic 'How To Train Your Dragon (Age)' by magisterpavus (you have to read it!), I wanted to give this a go. 
> 
> This is my first attempt of writing fanfic for Dragon Age, so bear with me for any possible mistakes! XD More tags will possibly be added as the story progesses (hopefully), and please feel free to suggest any other relationships to explore :) Many thanks to those who read this!

Clawed paws carefully treaded down the path, the white-and-blue dracolisk grumbled in protest as it walked through muddy puddles left behind from heavy rainfall the previous night. A soothing hand from its rider ran over the bumpy, dappled scales at the base of its neck, calming the creature.   
Once they reached level ground, the rider tugged at the reins gently for her mount to halt, enough time for her other companions to catch up and to survey the rugged landscape before them; The Hinterlands.The morning air was cool and damp. Fall had truly set in, the tree leaves a blur of reds, oranges and yellows, the only traces of green retained on the pines. 

‘The farms would be bringing their harvest in by now.’ She thought, shivering at the chill despite the layers of wool, leather and metal she wore.   
However, something unusual caught her eye; several footprints leading further down the hill slopes, where boulders lay broken and scattered across the valley floor, trees almost uprooted from the ground. Worryingly, she also noticed dozens of rake marks dotted around, as if caused by huge claws…

“My Lady?” A voice from behind interrupted her. She turned to face her companions, a pair of young scouts shifting uneasily. After taking in the scene once more, she dismounted from her dracolisk.

“Wild dragon in the area, moved on only in the last few hours. And it probably has company.’ She remarked, digging into the contents of her saddlebag. Clipping on a few pouches onto her belt, she handed over the reins to one of the scouts, ‘You two head back to camp, pack up and gather the others. I’ll go on ahead and meet you on the west side of the Hinterlands, there should be a road leading into the Frostbacks.”

“But My Lady, wouldn't you rather have at least one of us accompany you?!’ One of the scouts protested.

Glancing upwards, she smiled knowingly as a series of thuds, as loud as thunder, drew closer, “No, I think we’ll be able to manage this ourselves.” 

*

“Shit!’ Jacob hissed as he narrowly missed the fireball aimed in his direction, the dragon screeched in frustration. Within seconds, the familiar thrum of barrier magic enveloped him. He could hear Dorian yell out behind him, ‘Kaffas! Try not to get yourself killed!’, as the mage shot several sparks of electricity towards the dragon, more to distract it. The Inquisitor could see Varric carefully positioned underneath the ledge, trying to aim his crossbow for the softer parts of the dragon’s scaly hide, whilst Iron Bull charged for one of its legs, his own battle cry drowned out by the dragon’s enraged roar.

Jacob couldn't help but curse how he got involved in this; merely weeks after he and his group managed to defeat the Fereldan Frostback, in the midst of planning an expedition to Crestwood to meet with Hawke, reports suddenly come in of another dragon spotted in the Hinterlands. Of course, Iron Bull had been ecstatic to hear that piece of information and practically begged the Inquisitor to join this unexpected quest, despite objections from the rest of the companions. In the end, he relented to dealing with the situation, adding calmly, ‘I doubt anyone else will volunteer. We've managed before, why should this time be any different?” Oh how wrong he was.

The dragon, a young yellow-green adult judging by its smaller size but still as temperamental and vicious as a full-grown, raised its wings again and started to flap. Jacob gritted his teeth as he felt the heavy pull of the whirlwind drag him and his companions closer to its gaping maw. Bull narrowly avoided his arm being ripped off as he grabbed hold onto a curved head-spike, Dorian and Varric ran for better cover whilst Jacob struggled to pull himself up and reached for his weapon. The dragon shook its head, managing to dislodge Bull’s grip, and turned to face the Inquisitor, golden eyes glowing with anger. With a single swipe of its paw, Jacob was flung into the air and landed almost halfway across the field. Groaning in pain, he looked down his side, only to see the claws had tore through parts of his armor and ripped the skin along his hip and leg, blood trickling down.   
He could see Dorian rushing towards him, his arms throwing out in elaborate gestures in the midst of performing a spell. Barrier magic surrounded him once more. Within moments, Dorian knelt down by him and cursed under his breath, his hands pressing against Jacob’s wounds in attempt to slow the bleeding.

“Venhedis, what did I say?! I'm not that proficient in healing magic, and you've use the last of your potions, haven’t you?!’ Dorian growled as he pawed at the empty pouches on Jacob’s belt, ‘Dammit, we’ll need Bull to get you out of here, you can’t walk like that. Varric!’ He called out to the dwarf running towards them, still shooting at the dragon, ‘Do you have any more of those bee grenades left?”

“Used up my last one, remember Sparkler? Or did those fireballs distract you too much?’ Varric snarked back, passing a small bottle of bright red liquid to Jacob, ignoring the mild protest, ‘Drink up, can’t have our Inquisitor bleed to death. Tiny might still have one grenade, but could we-”

An audible sound of glass smashing interrupted him, followed by a loud thrum of buzzing. The dragon screeched as the cloud of bees enveloped around its head, unaware of Iron Bull ducking underneath and running towards the group. His eager smile fell a little when he saw Jacob’s wounds, despite them starting to close up with the potion’s help. 

“Shit, hang on boss.’ Bull leaned down, placing his axe onto his back, ‘We’ll get you out, save dragon killing for another time, huh? Think you guys can cover-”

A burst of light and heat. The buzzing silenced, the dragon turned to face the group, smoke still curling in its mouth and muscles quivering with rage. Dorian raised his hands, eyes narrowed in concentration as he willed the barrier to strengthen, enveloping the group. The dragon’s growling grew and it stalked towards them. He dared not turn his gaze away when he addressed them, ‘You’ll have enough time to run, I’ll keep the brute on me. Just get him away from here!" Ignoring the raised voices of protestations, he began to summon his deeper reserves of magic, crackles of electricity sparked out of his hands. Jacob could feel his heart hammering within his chest as the dragon reared onto its hind legs, snarling at the mage. Its throat began to glow a deep orange, the inevitable sign of its fire breath threatening to emerge.

A distant roar startled the group and the dragon, enough for the fire to extinguish in its throat with a hiss as it swivelled its head to locate the source of the noise. Faint, unmistakable sounds of wings flapping drew closer…

A white dragon shot down from the cloud cover and soared over the field and, to the astonishment and bewilderment of the group below, there seated in a saddle just in front of its shoulders was a person.


	2. Chapter 2

‘ _Holy shit!_ ’ Bull couldn’t help thinking in awe as the other dragon soared overhead. A grin spread across his face. He had heard of those few who attempted to tame, let alone ride, the beasts and failed spectacularly. _All that raw power, that wildness, dragons were never meant to be controlled_ , he had thought before, even though he’d seen the damned archdemon bow to Corypheus. But right now, watching the rider lean with the dragon’s movements as if they were one creature, he struggled to tell where the lie crossed with the truth.

The white dragon started to circle. The group took shelter underneath a nearby rocky overhang, Iron Bull held Jacob carefully in his arms whilst Dorian sent small pulses of healing magic into the wounds from his diminished mana reserves. The young adult seemed unsure of how to confront the intruder but not willing to flee its new territory. It hissed threateningly, sparks of flame spat out of its mouth. The white dragon simply flared its wings and glided down to a near graceful landing, the impact still made the earth tremble.  
The dragon was enormous to say the least, twice the length of the younger dragon, the rider could easily be as tall as some of the spikes that ran down the length of the creature’s spine. Its head sported an impressive crown of bone-white horns, sprouting from its brow to along its jawline. Up close however, Bull could see that its hide wasn’t completely white, hints of blue glimmered between the scales, reminding him of a glacier’s colouration. This was certainly unlike any other dragon that he’d ever seen before. But his attention still kept flickering to the rider nestled high upon its shoulders clad in leather-and-metal armor, disguising whether the figure was male or female…

Another hiss cut through Bull’s trail of thought. The youngster tried again to scare the elder away, despite its injuries. Bull tensed, readying himself for another attack.  
To everyone’s surprise, the larger dragon lifted its forearm and its rider climbed down with ease from the saddle, using some of the jagged scales as footholds. After landing on the ground, the rider cautiously approached the youngster before stopping several feet away. The dragon shuffled backwards, its injuries and exhaustion undoubtedly slowing it down but the way it growled still sent shivers down Bull’s spine. 

Everyone held their breaths. Tension filled the air, but Bull could barely retain his excitement, catching himself smiling at the rider’s stand of confidence. After several minutes ticked by, the yellow-green dragon’s growling grew silent. It was now watching the rider with cautious interest, sniffing the air. Despite being too far to hear anything distinct, Bull could tell that the person was trying to reassure the creature, as if comforting a cornered animal instead of a dangerous being likely to kill in a split second.  
As if gaining some unspoken permission, the rider slowly approached the numerous wounds marred on one side, the dragon curved its neck around, watching every move. Several arrow shafts were sticking out underneath, deep slashes cut into one of its legs and scorch marks dotted all over the hide. The group shifted uncomfortably, sensing the rider’s judgement. Then, the rider gently placed a hand on the dragon’s leg, a soft blue-green aura enveloped around the arm; healing magic. 

The young dragon barely moved whilst the rider slowly worked on its wounds, only grunting in pain when the arrow shafts were carefully pried out. The magic was obviously not strong enough to clear away all the injuries, but managed to stop the bleeding. Soon enough, the rider stepped back, the magic disappeared as swiftly as it was summoned. After a cautious sniff at the sealed wounds, the dragon was now looking at the rider with a more appreciative gaze. Then, after several moments of silence and with a quick glance at the older dragon, the juvenile leapt into the air with a roar, dust still swirling above the ground as it flew further away.

Once the creature was clear out of site, everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief but still dared not move from their shelter. The white dragon stepped forward towards its rider and lowered its head, the rolling sound the creature made when its snout was petted seemed similar to a purr but as loud as thunder. However, the dragon snapped its gaze at the group, falling silent again as its rider followed its gaze at last. After a moment, the person strode away from her mount, marching towards them with perhaps a greater sense of purpose than before. The voice that called out to them somehow managed to catch even Bull off guard, ‘Are any of you hurt?’

The voice was clearly female, and young by the sound of it. As the rider drew closer, Bull noticed Jacob trying to pull himself straighter, putting on the Inquisitor facade in attempt to conceal the pain of his injuries still lingering. Dorian still kept his hand placed on Jacob’s side, the pulse of healing magic sluggish despite the mage clearly pushing the limits of his reserves. The rider stopped just before the ledge and pulled off her helmet, a few strands of her dark brown hair fell across her face from the roughly tied-up bun. A faint, reddish glow cast on her beige skin, whether from sun exposure or wind chill was anyone's guess. From her appearance, Bull guessed that she could be not that much younger than the Inquisitor himself, around the mid-twenties. Tossing the helmet aside, the rider reached for one of her belt pouches and pulled out a couple of small bottles, familiar red liquid swirling gently inside.

“Here, this’ll help.’ She offered one of the bottles to Jacob, who tentatively accepted with a grateful nod, her dark eyes narrowed at the congealed blood, ‘But is there anything broken?’

Jacob took a swift gulp of the liquid, already starting to feel its soothing effects on his wounds, ‘Maybe a fracture or two, but nothing broken I think.’ He hissed softly at the sharp twinge in his upper side, possibly confirming his injury, ‘I must thank you, I don’t wish to imagine what could’ve happened if you hadn’t arrived.’ He flicked his gaze at Dorian, mentally shuddering at the image.

The rider sighed in relief, ‘I thought we were too late when I saw you.’ She offered more of the bottles to the rest of the group, before catching a glimpse of the emblem on Jacob’s armor, ‘By any chance, are you of the Inquisition?’

Bull couldn’t help but snort, suppressing a chuckle when the rider shot a look to him, ‘You could say the boss here _is_ the Inquisition.’ After a moment, the rider’s eyes widened, turning back to Jacob.

‘You mean, _you’re_ the Inquisitor?!’ Her gaze flickered to the eerie green glow of the Mark on Jacob’s hand, ‘As in, the one they call the Herald of Andraste?! I didn’t think I would meet you so soon. I should’ve realised sooner, ordinary soldiers wouldn’t have dared to try to face a dragon in such a small group. Uh, not to say you were being idiots or…’ She halted awkwardly, before pinching the bridge of her nose, ‘Shit, not exactly phrasing my words right, am I? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.’

Jacob smiled, finally able to stand up with a little help but still keeping his hand pressed against his side, ‘None taken. Hopefully that’ll be enough fighting for one day.’ After a moment, he continued, ‘I suppose proper introductions are in order; Jacob Trevelyan. My friends here are just a few members of the Inquisition: Varric Tethras, rogue and renowned storyteller in these parts; Dorian Pavus of Tevinter, one of the finest mages I’ve worked with; and the Iron Bull, Captain of the Chargers.’ The others inclined their heads in greeting, Dorian in particular preened at his introduction, but casted wary glances at the dragon, now standing behind its rider with its crowned head lowered, staring at the group with dark-blue eyes larger than their heads.

The rider bowed in response, ‘Rosalie of House Kazar, but I prefer to be called Rose mostly. Captain of the Third Rider Squadron and rider of Theron. Don’t mind him by the way, he won’t harm you. Certainly not without my command.’ Theron snorted in response, the sharp gust of warm air almost knocked them back. Bull swore he thought the dragon looked apologetic, especially when he heard Rosalie scold her mount quietly, ‘There was no need for that.’ 

Jacob hissed at another sharp twinge to his side, Bull and Dorian instinctively reached for him before he could fall forward. Helping him straighten up, Dorian spoke up, ‘I believe that would be a hint to head back to camp and have this _properly_ taken care of.’

Rose appeared hurt at the apparent dismissal from the mage, Theron seemed to glare at the mage, but before she could begin to turn away, Varric stepped forward, ‘Don’t mind Sparkler here, kid. He tends to be like that when someone manages to outdo him in anything magic-related.’ He smiled kindly when the rider bit her lip in attempt to suppress her amused snicker as Dorian spluttered in protest. ‘Listen, why don’t you come with us to camp? Least we can do for saving our asses out there is share some grub while we get the boss here sorted.’ He ignored the Inquisitor’s mutter, ‘And I thought I was meant to give orders around here.’ But neither he nor the rest of the group seemed to reject the proposal.

Rose considered the invite for a moment before accepting with a slight nod.

"As long as it’s no trouble on your part. I was hoping to meet with the Inquisition for a good while. Fate certainly has an interesting way to respond.’ She murmured thoughtfully at the last comment, but looked again at Jacob, ‘I certainly have much to discuss with yourself, Inquisitor, but I’ll save that for later, once you’ve healed.’ 

The group emerged from underneath the ledge, carefully sidestepping around Theron’s head despite the dragon showing no signs of aggression. Jacob limped past, almost leaning into Dorian as the mage offered his support. Rose placed a gloved hand on Theron’s snout, Bull watched in utter fascination as she spoke, ‘Go find our men and bring them near the camp. I’ll sort out arrangements. Wait until I call for you.’ Theron nuzzled against her hand, rumbling another purr-like growl before pulling away. The group braced themselves as the earth shook violently when the dragon made a few thunderous hops before leaping into the air. They all watched in awe as Theron climbed higher into the sky, the near-deafening claps of his wings echoed across the valley faded away swiftly like distant drums as he soared for the depths of the Hinterlands.


End file.
